Oregon Out In Front On Health Care Reforms

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to uphold much of the federal health care overhaul will require many states to scramble to get ready because they hoped it would be overturned and dragged their feet. Oregon won't be one of them.

Oregon started working on health care reform even before President Barack Obama's 2010 initiative, and the state has worked aggressively to implement its requirements. The ruling appears to uphold more than $60 million in federal grants that Oregon is using to create a health care exchange.

State officials say the Supreme Court ruling would not have had much impact on their plan to create coordinated care organizations to lower costs for Medicaid patients.

Gov. John Kitzhaber tells Oregon Public Broadcasting that Oregon's work "is a clear example of what's possible."